The American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona announced Monday that it will appeal a September U.S. District Court ruling that allowed a last, disputed remnant of the 2010 immigration law known as SB 1070 to stay on the books.

Section 2(b) of the controversial immigration omnibus, sometimes referred to as the "show me your papers" clause, requires law enforcement officers to make a "reasonable attempt" to determine the immigration status of people stopped for other reasons if "reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien and is unlawfully present in the United States."

The ACLU and a coalition of immigrant-advocacy groups, including the National Immigration Law Center and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, claim that the law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. But U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton in September ruled against them, saying they had not produced sufficient evidence.

"We don't need a judge to tell us harassment and profiling should have no place in our state law," ACLU of Arizona Executive Director Alessandra Soler said Monday. She spoke at a state Capitol news conference as a group of protestors held signs behind her.

"SB 1070 turned every person of color into a suspect," said ACLU attorney Jorge Castillo.

SB 1070 was signed into law in April 2010 by Gov. Jan Brewer. Before it could go into effect, Bolton placed injunctions against four portions of the law, including section 2(b), in response to a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice. The other three provisions related to a need to carry "alien registration" papers, the ability of police to make warrantless arrests if they suspected an immigrant had committed a deportable offense, and a prohibition against soliciting day labor.

The ACLU and a coalition of immigrant-advocacy groups say that the "show me your papers" clause violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.(Photo: Michael Kiefer/The Republic)

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court upheld all the injunctions except the one against 2(b), which then went into effect. The high court ruled that the plaintiffs had not yet proven that the law would be abused by law enforcement.

In response to a lawsuit filed by ACLU and the coalition of advocacy groups, Bolton subsequently blocked two other portions of SB 1070, laws making it a crime to transport or harbor illegal immigrants, or to block traffic while soliciting work.

Earlier laws denying bond to illegal immigrants accused of serious crimes and targeting human smuggling also were knocked down when courts determined those statutes were pre-empted by federal law.

The ACLU coalition persisted in its efforts to knock down Section 2(b) on the grounds that SB 1070 discriminated in its intent. Bolton did not buy the argument. The ACLU intends to file its appeal in the 9th Circuit.